Southwest, transport workers reach deal

DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co. and a union representing ramp workers and other employees reached a tentative contract that could avert labor unrest over the busy holiday season.

Negotiators for the Transport Workers Union, representing 5,300 ground workers, accepted the plan, which must be approved by the union's executive board before employees vote on it. The union called off plans for informational picketing.

Employees received word of the deal Sunday morning in a taped telephone message. Details were not released.

''Southwest is delighted to have reached this tentative agreement,'' said Ginger Hardage, spokeswoman for the Dallas-based low-fare airline. ''It is in the best interest of our customers.''

The union said it would announce the terms of the proposed contract after it had been reviewed by the union's executive board.

Employees have been in negotiations for a new contract since early December. Two federal mediators assisted, with key issues including higher wages, changes to Southwest's 401(k) program and a revised attendance policy.

After talks stalled last month, Herb Kelleher, Southwest's chairman, chief executive and president, implemented pay hikes from a contract rejected by the union's Local 555. The union applied for picketing permits at Southwest locations and was running tests involving its strike preparations committee.

The airline, with 30,000 employees, has only had one strike in its 29-year history. A walkout in 1980 by the International Association of Machinists lasted 20 days, but failed to shut down the airline because pilots and flight attendants crossed picket lines.